A Wonder-Book, The Minotaur, part 4: Medea's poisoned wine nearly kills Theseus before his father recognizes him

Tests: 3 of 15 right · Exam: 1 of 4 right · Kind: ★ · Understood: 12 of 19 · Run: 2026-10-18, commit f3c23ea72

Lesson 2045 of the books course of Mova's primary school, as Mova's small model took its tests: it had read this lesson and the ones before it and learned from their exercises. Each test shows the options in the order the student saw them, its choice, the right answer, the score of every option and why it chose.

Every question of this lesson and each of its options parsed by Mova, with trees and pragmatics: the lesson's questions in the corpora.

Test 1 · ★ · wrong ✗

ngl the nephews were so sus, what were they faking?

1. acting like his cousin's kin — score -2
2. spying on him — no support
3. being his cousin's best mates — ✓ the right answer · no support
4. pretending to be his friends — ← Mova's choice · score 4

Why: It took the question to ask what it is done to. It chose option 4 with score 4, against -2 for the next best. Its support: lesson 2045, line 1: «Theseus meets his cousins, the king's nephews, who learn who he is and pretend to be his best friends.», reached through the same lesson line as the sentence the question matched. What matched: the same light verb (be, have, do, get, go) (+5). Against it: the same thing acted on «best friends» (-1). The right option, 3, found no support in what it remembers. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 2 · ★ · wrong ✗

yo why'd they wanna send him in as a random stranger?

1. to see if dad knew him — ← Mova's choice · no support
2. to see if dad would recognize him — ✓ the right answer · no support
3. to check his age — no support
4. to find out who he was — no support

Why: No option found support in what it remembers, so it guessed: it took the first option shown. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 3 · ★ · wrong ✗

lol what did Medea say she could boil old folks into?

1. young — ← Mova's choice · no support
2. newer — no support
3. younger again — ✓ the right answer · no support
4. strong once more — no support

Why: No option found support in what it remembers, so it guessed: it took the first option shown. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 4 · ★ · wrong ✗

wait, what did Medea's ride look like, like a magic chariot?

1. a fiery chariot pulled by dragons — ✓ the right answer · no support
2. a bright chariot drawn by eagles — no support
3. a silver carriage pulled by horses — ← Mova's choice · score 1
4. an ordinary wooden cart pulled by a pair of old oxen from the nearby farm — score -1

Why: It took the question to ask what it is done to. It chose option 3 with score 1, against -1 for the next best. Its support: lesson 1426, line 18: «Old word: a bobbin here is a string or knob you pull to lift the latch, while today a bobbin is a small reel for thread.», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same circumstance (+2); it fills the role the question asks for (+1). Against it: a different doer (counts against) (-2). The right option, 1, found no support in what it remembers. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 5 · ★ · right ✓

bro what could kill you just by touching it with your lips?

1. a sharp blade dipped in deadly venom from snakes — score -4
2. a cup of wine laced with a bitter herb from the north — no support
3. a poison — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 5
4. a salt — score 5

Why: It took the question to ask who or what does it. It chose option 3 with score 5, tied with another option at 5 (the first shown, or the one claiming less beyond what it knows, wins). Its support: lesson 1089, line 10: «The Ogre sniffs and says, "I smell fresh meat," but his wife says it is the calf she has killed.», reached through the remembered sentence the question matched. What matched: the same action «kill» (+5); the same thing acted on «wife» (+1). Against it: a different doer (counts against) (-1). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 6 · ★ · wrong ✗

so how'd Medea wanna slip him the death juice?

1. a few drops in his wine cup — ← Mova's choice · score 4
2. in cold water — score 4
3. a sip from the golden jug — score 4
4. a drop in his goblet of wine — ✓ the right answer · score 4

Why: It took the question to ask what something is like. It chose option 1 with score 4, tied with another option at 4 (the first shown, or the one claiming less beyond what it knows, wins). Its support: lesson 2045, line 13: «WHY: Medea wants to kill Theseus "before his father's eyes," so she smiles while she plots.», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same doer «medea» (+3); the same action «want» (+1). The right option, 4, scored 4. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 7 · ★ · wrong ✗

when the fly fell in, what happened to it?

1. it flew off — ← Mova's choice · score 4
2. it floated and died — score 4
3. it sank into the wine — no support
4. it dropped in dead — ✓ the right answer · no support

Why: It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 1 with score 4, tied with another option at 4 (the first shown, or the one claiming less beyond what it knows, wins). Its support: lesson 2040, line 14: «The Dragon-fly says "There is no good talking to him", and flies off on "lovely gauze wings".», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same action «fly off» (+3); the same doer «dragon fly» (+1). The right option, 4, found no support in what it remembers. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 8 · ★ · wrong ✗

what was dad sitting on, all fancy?

1. a gilded royal seat — ← Mova's choice · no support
2. a stool — no support
3. a magnificent throne — ✓ the right answer · no support
4. a bench — no support

Why: No option found support in what it remembers, so it guessed: it took the first option shown. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 9 · ★ · wrong ✗

what was he holding, like a king's stick?

1. a golden orb — ← Mova's choice · score 2
2. a long golden staff topped with a carved eagle and jewels — score -1
3. a royal staff — score 2
4. a scepter — ✓ the right answer · score 2

Why: It took the question to ask what it is done to. It chose option 1 with score 2, tied with another option at 2 (the first shown, or the one claiming less beyond what it knows, wins). Its support: lesson 1973, line 11: «Jack's father says "Never till you have the money to keep her" when Jack asks to marry the girl he loves.», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same circumstance (+2). The right option, 4, scored 2. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 10 · ★ · wrong ✗

why was Theseus crying, like, for real?

1. he remembered every tale his mother had told him about the king's kindness and honor in old days — ← Mova's choice · score 2
2. he missed his father dearly — score 2
3. he was overcome with joy at seeing the father he had never truly known as a boy — score 2
4. he felt sad his dad was so old — ✓ the right answer · score 2

Why: It took the question to ask why something happens (its cause). It chose option 1 with score 2, tied with another option at 2 (the first shown, or the one claiming less beyond what it knows, wins). Its support: lesson 1854, line 8: «What: the vizier's son tells the prince to put snow in his eyes so he will "weep" and seem sad.», reached through the cause of the sentence the question matched. What matched: the same doer «son» (+1); a different action (counts against) (+1). The right option, 4, scored 2. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 11 · ★ · wrong ✗

what was Theseus gonna do for his dad, all sweet?

1. help him walk — ← Mova's choice · no support
2. hug him and hold him up — ✓ the right answer · no support
3. bring him a cool drink — no support
4. carry his heavy shield — no support

Why: No option found support in what it remembers, so it guessed: it took the first option shown. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 12 · ★ · right ✓

what made Theseus fail at his speech?

1. the king's stern face frightened him so badly that he could not remember anything he had planned to say — no support
2. all the big feelings choked him — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 1
3. his feelings broke his words — score 1
4. the words he had practiced for weeks slipped from his mind the moment he saw the throne — score 1

Why: It took the question to ask who or what does it. It chose option 2 with score 1, tied with another option at 1 (the first shown, or the one claiming less beyond what it knows, wins). Its support: lesson 1011, line 12: «The stork's words are a joke, since storks only clatter their bills, and no one truly speaks Egyptian.», reached through the same lesson line as the sentence the question matched. What matched: it fills the role the question asks for (+1). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 13 · ★ · wrong ✗

what did Medea whisper to dad, the mean part?

1. offer the wine to him — score 4
2. pour the wine — score -2
3. whisper to him that the stranger wants the throne and offer him the poisoned wine at once — ← Mova's choice · score 5
4. offer him the wine now — ✓ the right answer · score 4

Why: It took the question to ask what it is done to. It chose option 3 with score 5, against 4 for the next best. Its support: lesson 2045, line 16: «WHY: Medea whispers, "The wretch lives too long! Quick! offer him the wine!" to rush the king into the plan.», reached through the same lesson line as the sentence the question matched. What matched: the same action «offer» (+5); a different doer (counts against) (+1). Against it: the same thing acted on «wine» (-1). The right option, 4, scored 4. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 14 · ★ · right ✓

what did the nephew say the sword looked like?

1. sharp, bright and terrible — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 0
2. long and bright — score 0
3. shining and very deadly — score -2
4. sharp and cold — score 0

Why: It took the question to ask what it is done to. It chose option 1 with score 0, tied with another option at 0 (the first shown, or the one claiming less beyond what it knows, wins). Its support: lesson 1652, line 10: «WHY: the Wind went searching because the girl wept, and he said, "Don't be frightened; I will go and see."», reached through the remembered sentence the question matched. What matched: the same action «search» (+2). Against it: the same doer «wind» (-2). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 15 · ★ · wrong ✗

so why'd the king's hand shake, fr?

1. his conscience refused to let him poison the young man who had come to him in peace — ← Mova's choice · no support
2. his nerves were failing him — no support
3. his body felt weak and tired — no support
4. his heart said no to the plan — ✓ the right answer · no support

Why: No option found support in what it remembers, so it guessed: it took the first option shown. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Exam question 1 · formal language · wrong ✗

To what end did the nephews propose that Theseus present himself as a stranger?

1. To prevent the king from recognising him so that the nephews could strike first at the feast — ← Mova's choice · score 6
2. To discover if the king would accept him — score 3
3. To ascertain whether Aegeus would recognise him — ✓ the right answer · score 3
4. To learn whether Aegeus knew his face — score 3

Why: It took the question to ask who or what does it. It chose option 1 with score 6, against 3 for the next best. Its support: lesson 1794, line 3: «At night he chews corn to feel sleepy, then sucks on sandy grit to keep himself awake.», reached through the remembered sentence the question matched. What matched: the same action «keep» (+5); the same thing acted on «son» (+1). The right option, 3, scored 3. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Exam question 2 · formal language · right ✓

By what means did Medea propose that the poison be administered to Theseus?

1. By a single drop placed in a goblet of wine — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · no support
2. By a single drop, slipped secretly into a goblet of wine offered to him at the feast by the king — no support
3. By a mixture hidden in his honey cake — no support
4. By a single drop in his bowl of broth — no support

Why: No option found support in what it remembers, so it guessed: it took the first option shown. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Exam question 3 · formal language · wrong ✗

What circumstance indicated to Medea that her preparation was effective?

1. The king's servant tasted the wine and fell to the floor before anyone else could drink it — ← Mova's choice · no support
2. The fly fell dead into the goblet — ✓ the right answer · no support
3. The wine turned sour and bitter — no support
4. The cup cracked in two pieces — no support

Why: No option found support in what it remembers, so it guessed: it took the first option shown. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Exam question 4 · formal language · wrong ✗

What prevented Aegeus from giving the goblet to Theseus at once?

1. His son stopped him at the door — ← Mova's choice · score 3
2. A sudden noise from the courtyard startled him and he paused, staring at the stranger for a long while — score -2
3. His conscience stirred so strongly that he hesitated and the wine splashed across the floor of the hall — no support
4. His hand trembled and wine slopped over — ✓ the right answer · no support

Why: It took the question to ask who or what does it. It chose option 1 with score 3, against -2 for the next best. Its support: lesson 548, line 5: «Theseus and Pirithoeus kidnap young Helen, Pirithoeus gets stuck in Hades, and Theseus gives up his throne and retires to Scyros.», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same action «give up» (+4). Against it: the same doer «theseus» (-1). The right option, 4, found no support in what it remembers. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

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